Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Sells 12,992 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC cut its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 279,740 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 12,992 shares during the period. Apple accounts for about 5.1% of Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $76,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Monarch Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 66,967 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,920 shares in the last quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 397,834 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $101,301,000 after purchasing an additional 8,446 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in Apple by 48.4% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares during the period. Finally, Tufton Capital Management boosted its position in Apple by 4.3% during the third quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Moffett Nathanson upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. KGI Securities upgraded shares of Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Maxim Group raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.58.

Apple Stock Down 1.6%

AAPL opened at $248.80 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $260.24 and a 200-day moving average of $262.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.21 and a 1-year high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $143.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 13.15%.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush says 2026 could be a significant product year and raises upside potential (they reiterate Outperform and a $350 target), framing WWDC and AI-driven hardware as major catalysts. Apple in focus as Wedbush calls 2026 a ‘significant’ product launch year ahead of WWDC
• Positive Sentiment: Apple hired ex-Google executive Lilian Rincon as VP of product marketing for AI — a concrete senior hire to accelerate Siri/AI positioning and marketing. Apple hires ex-Google executive to head AI marketing amid push to improve Siri
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Apple will open Siri to rival AI assistants (Gemini, Claude, etc.) in iOS 27 — this pivot can broaden iPhone AI capabilities without Apple building everything in?house. Apple Plans to Open Up Siri to Rival AI Assistants in iOS 27 Update
• Positive Sentiment: Services continue to grow (reported ~14% y/y, Apple TV and gaming aiding strength) — recurring high?margin revenue supports earnings upside even if hardware cycles lag. Strong Streaming & Game Content Aids Apple’s Services: What’s Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple expands U.S. manufacturing program, adding Bosch, Cirrus Logic, TDK and Qnity and committing $400M — reduces supply?chain risk and supports domestic sourcing narrative. Apple adds Bosch, Cirrus Logic, others to US manufacturing program, to invest $400 million
• Positive Sentiment: Apple is granting rare large stock bonuses to iPhone designers to curb talent departures to AI firms — a retention step to protect future product execution. Apple Drops Six Figure Bonuses To Stop iPhone Talent Exodus
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst tweak: Erste trimmed FY2027 EPS slightly — minimal change to consensus, but worth watching for estimate revisions. Apple Inc. analyst note (Erste Group) via MarketBeat
• Neutral Sentiment: Steve Wozniak publicly criticizes AI and says he hardly uses it — a reputational/PR datapoint but unlikely to move fundamentals. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak admits he’s ‘disappointed a lot’ by AI and hardly uses it
• Negative Sentiment: Broader tech sector weakness — Nasdaq slide, Meta legal losses and geopolitical worries are pressuring tech stocks, which is dragging AAPL despite company?specific positives. Tech stocks suffer worst week in nearly a year, driven down by war worries, Meta legal woes
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Apple has discontinued the Mac Pro and abandoned future updates could concern pro users and niche revenue, though impact on total revenue is limited. Apple reportedly discontinues Mac Pro, abandons plans for future updates

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.